By Denton Josey, Features Editor
Sometimes you have to go outside and play. I was reminded of how important this is after I read an article about a man who wrote so much in his journal that all the pages fit into 91 boxes.
The late Reverend Robert Shields of Dayton, Wash., got so involved in his journaling he ended up writing 3.75 million words by the time he died at 89. Friends said it was common to find him sitting on his porch in his long underwear typing on one of six typewriters. Shields was so meticulous in his writing that in addition to writing for hours a day, he even wrote about his trips to the restroom and had three dozen ways to describe urination. And he only slept for two hours at a time, so he could wake up and write about his dreams.
That’s kind of intense. He said he wrote so much because in the future people could read it and possibly be able to find out something about all people, not just him. Shields even taped nostril hairs to the pages so in the future scientists could study his DNA.
While I like to journal myself, this story kinda weirded me out. One person commented on the online article, “With all that writing, it’s a wonder he had time to have anything to write about.”
It is crazy to think about how good we are at wasting time. Though I don’t know many people who spend too much time journaling, most all of us have vices that eat up our time, and we usually don’t notice it until it is too late, or really close to too late. That is why November will eat you, if you’re not careful.
It may seem cool at first, but don’t fall for it.
Sure, No-Shave November brings some mountain man beards and freshmen fuzz, plus Thanksgiving is a nice break. But it is also the month you realize you can’t procrastinate any longer.
There’s a strong temptation to panic and dig a foxhole and attempt to make up for all the studying you’ve missed, but don’t do it. Try not to skip class anymore and maybe study for an hour a day instead of an hour a week, but don’t miss out on life.
Most folks probably don’t need to be told this, but don’t pass up on fun for studying or to get sleep. That is what Sunday afternoons are for – to make up for a week of poor sleeping.
November should be spent camping and going on road trips and playing outside, not getting owned by tests or papers.
Like the saying goes, “D’s mean degrees” or something like that. And if something goes wrong and you miss the D by a little, remember there’s always next semester.
Seriously, while school may start to get less fun academically, try not to let it steal your joy. I’m not saying to blow off classes to play video games or to never sleep, but to make sure you are enjoying life and not letting school run it.
Because whether it’s journaling too much like Rev. Shields or studying too much, you’ll go crazy if you don’t find time to balance and have fun.
By the time you are a senior you might not even remember all the classes you took, much less the grades you made, but you’ll remember the times you with your friends.
So make that a goal for November: don’t die at the hand of homework, but make time to do exciting things, things so rad you may even want to journal about them.
